If I Lost You
by MultipleCyrosis
Summary: Post Gundam Seed series. The ship has headed down to earth, and Kira and Cagalli are in the process of finding what they actually feel about each other[KiraCagalli][Chapter 3 up][Temporarily on hold]
1. Comet Light

**If I lost you**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed but I do own grass seeds so maybe…**

**A/N:  
-Yes I do know that Cagalli and Kira are twins - If you don't like don't read.**

**-The following takes place after episode 51 in Gundam Seed. **

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The silence of space was all that was heard. The young man lay in his bed, drifting in and out of sleep. 2 figures, both dressed in pilot suits, huddled near the door, speaking in whispers. The first figure was clearly masculine, his broad shoulders filling out the tight fitting pilot suit. The second figure had a more petite, curved look about it. 

The first figure silently exited the room, seemingly after the whispered conversation was over. The second figure walked slowly over to the bed, her features becoming visible in the dim light. Strands of golden hair hung loosely about her head, outlining her light complexion. The feminine face looked down into the fluttering eyelids of the young man in his bed. She touched his face gently.

"Kira…" Her pretty features became twisted with agony. "You always get hurt."

Kira's eyelids stopped moving, then opened. "Uhh…" He groaned. "Cagalli?"

He couldn't see the person clearly, like his vision had been blurred.

"Kira…Kira…KIRA YOU IDIOT!"

He was now fully awake, his coordinator reflexes jerking him to a sitting position – until he hit what seemed like a concrete wall. "Uhhhh…talk about ouch…"

He looked around him and saw Cagalli rubbing her pretty forehead.

"Owwww… Kira did you have to go and do that?"

Kira laughed softly, even though it hurt his ribs. "When they said you were hard-headed they weren't kidding"

"Wha…"

SMACK!

Kira doubled over after Cagalli's famous punch hit him in the gut. The pain lingered for a moment then was cancelled out by Cagalli's soft arms hugging him. "Kira you idiot. If you ever almost die again I'll… I'll…" Her voice broke, the waves of overcoming emotion sweeping over her.

"Sorry…I wont do it again." He wanted to reach around her to return the hug but his arms were nearly immobile. "I promise."

Cagalli straightened up from her hugging posture.

_Even when she is crying…She looks so beautiful._

"Jeez. What am I going to do with you?" She paused. "Anyway, I've got to go back to Athrun…Stay well ok?"

"Ok…" At the mention of Athrun, his face dimmed slightly.

_Oh yeah, that's right… Those two had something after all._

He watched her exit the room, the tight pilot suit outlining her womanly curves.

_Ah… What am I thinking? We already know that we are twins…_

He let out a loud sigh. With his coordinator genes, he knew that he would be out of the hospital bed in a couple of hours.

He jerked up suddenly, sweat running through his clothes. He had bad dreams before, but this one was one of the worse. He stood up shakily after pulling the covers off his bed. The cool hum of the air-conditioning met him in the face, refreshing his memory of the things that had happened not so long ago.

"_Kira. Don't die ok?" _

"_Kira! I thought you were dead you punk!" _

He sighed. Memories of Cagalli before they found out they were twins.

* * *

She dreamt of weird things that night. She saw Kira drifting away in space. Lifeless. She opened her eyes abruptly. She did not want to dream that dream again. Kira was her only family now. _Perhaps…_ She shook away the stray thought that had wandered into her brain.

* * *

Kira strolled along the empty hallway till he came to the enclosed deck. Even enclosed the deck still looked beautiful, outlined by the masses of stars that populated the universe. He sat down beside the doorway and gazed up at the stars.

* * *

Cagalli peeked through the doorway of the deck, and seeing no one there gave a small sigh. Even though this time was because of a bad dream, she usually came up here by herself during the night to see the tranquility of space before battles. 

_Kinda like the calm before the storm. Hehe, kinda like Kira before he goes out to battle. So quiet, yet when he goes out... Its hell._

She went to the railing and stared out at the stars. The stars didn't twinkle as much here as they did on earth, but the beauty still stunned her.

"You can see a whole new galaxy from where I am."

Cagalli turned around, shocked.

"Ki-Kira."

The shock was replaced by puzzlement. "I thought…I thought you were still in the hospital bed." Puzzlement was replaced by worry. "Are you sure its alright for you to be out this late?"

Kira chuckled. "Yeah its ok, its ok."

"How are your injuries?" she asked, her worry fading slowly.

"Yeah…Even though I'm in bandages the wounds are starting to close up."

"That's good."

_Not those ones you idiot. The ones inside of you._

"Yeah. You know, if you sit here you can see well. The view isn't as obstructed."

Cagalli sat down beside Kira. And sat motionless for a while.

"It's beautiful right?"

Cagalli looked at Kira. She knew all about his emotional problems. It was as if she could feel his pain. "Yeah, I come up here every time I have a bad dream."

_And this one was of you, you idiot. If you would stop 'dying' so often I wouldn't be plagued by these nightmares._

"Oh." Silence cut the air. "We must be sort of the same then. I came up here 'cause I had a not-so-nice dream as well."

Cagalli giggled. Kira looked down on her golden head, puzzled at why she was laughing. She stopped, let out a sigh, and then rested her head against his shoulder.

"You know," Cagalli said after a while. "I feel ok - now that you're here."

Kira blushed. "Wa…Hey… I should be the one saying that."

She lifted her head from her resting position on his shoulder.

"What's the puzzled look for?" Kira asked. "I think you should know by now. I mean you've always comforted me."

"Have I?"

Kira stopped, slightly shocked. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is…" She glared at him behind her golden brown eyes. "What I mean is, every time I come to you, do I always comfort you?"

"Well… Yeah, sure…" Kira scratched his head, looking puzzled.

_Actually no. There was that one time when you showed me that picture. I mean, that wasn't comforting! Ah, what am I thinking? I should be happy. I have 'real' family now._

"Hmm…", was all that came out of her lips. Her head fell against his shoulder again.

_Kira, you idiot. Stop hiding all this hurt. Let me take some of it._

After sitting in silence for quite some time Kira spoke.

"Hey Caga – Wahhhh! Look at that!"

"Huh? Where? Where?" Cagalli sat up straight.

"Right there – can you see that shooting star?"

"Um…no."

"What? Hmm..., I can see it perfectly."

"Er…I still can't see it, Kira." Cagalli said while scanning the space around her. She turned, her back facing Kira. Suddenly strong hands tightened around her slim waist. She felt herself being lifted, ever so gently, moved back a little, and then put down again. She twisted her neck and looked at Kira, who was now directly behind her. He had lifted her into the space between his outstretched legs so that she was sitting between his knees.

Reddining slightly she asked, "Ki-Kira why did…?"

His hands gently guided her face away and up. He pulled her shoulders, so that her back was now against his chest. "Shh… Look." Kira pointed skyward. She lifted her head, and saw the amazing sight that Kira had been looking at. A portion of the sky had been illuminated by a group of comets. Normally on earth, all you could see was a white streak – but here in space comets could be seen as beautiful objects of the universe. Both sat in silence as the comets passed away from their view.

"Ah… That was beautiful" Cagalli sighed.

"Yeah. You... – I mean it was really beautiful." Kira looked away, obviously flustered.

_Dammit, I almost gave myself away. Which wouldn't have been so bad a while ago. Now..._

Cagalli twisted around until she was facing him, still enclosed by his outstretched legs. She stared at him solemly, until Kira's blush deepened. Then turned around again. She leaned back into his chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat resonating with her own.

_His heartbeat is fast. But then again…So is mine. I wonder...this is kind of wierd sitting like this. Hmm... But… it's so comfortable, being surrounded by him._

She blushed suddenly, in spite of herself. Kira felt surprise at the ease at which she just sat there, and the reassuring aura that she was giving off. His hands lifted slowly from his sides but then stopped.

_What am I thinking? She is after all… My…And what was I thinking before? Touching her like that._

His mind floated back a few minutes to where he had looked at her figure from behind. Her – a perfect feminine figure silhouetted against the dim light. Him - not resisting the urge, and holding her waist to place her in front of him.

His mind snapped back to reality as he clenched his fists and put them to his side.

"Hey Kira…"

"Um… Yeah?"

"I know those comets weren't shooting stars… But I still wished on them." She chuckled. "Do you know what I wished for?"

"Um… Nope."

"I wished that Flay didn't die. And since there was a group of them, I also wished that everyone could be happy."

"Hmm…"

Cagalli turned around with an angry expression.

_Why doesn't he care? I mean, he loved Flay right? That idiot._

She saw Kira smiling, but tears were flowing down his face. "Oh… sorry. I didn't know you were crying."

"Its fine. Really."

_Why do I always cry around you…Jeez…_

Cagalli turned around, her back facing Kira once more – but not leaning back into him as before. She was worried about her little brother. At the thought of the words 'little brother' her face dropped slightly.

"Jeez Kira, you could tell me your problems, you know." She exhaled loudly. "I guess I better go get some rest. I mean tomorrow… We're going to enter Earth. And at Earth I'm gonna have a lot of business to take care of." She started to get up.

Suddenly two arms enveloped her, one circling around her slender waist, and the other across her shoulders. As she gaped in surprise, she found herself being pulled back into his embrace. She tensed, then relaxed. As her the back of her neck was nearing Kira, he put his head forward so that it was resting on her shoulder.

"Kira… What are you -?"

Kira turned his head slightly to look at Cagalli, tears still streaming down his face. "Just…" He choked, overcome by emotion. "Just stay for a little while ok? Flay…"

Cagalli smiled softly. "Shh…Of course I will."

_Oh yeah, I mentioned Flay…He must be still be feeling sore from what happened. Losing her like that._

She lifted both her hands to grip his hand across her shoulders.

_If I lost you…_

His hand across her waist hadn't moved, but for some reason she felt comfortable with that position.

_It feels oddly… natural. Why…_

His chin came off her shoulder, and his arm across her shoulders gently extracted itself from her finger's grip. She tensed suddenly, feeling a slight insecurity. His hand traveled ever-so-slowly down the side of her thinly clothed body, sending the nerves of her skin into frenzy, giving off a small shivering sensation. Then the gentle caress was over as quickly as it started and she felt it joining the other arm at her waist. He was now holding her tightly, as if afraid she would somehow float away. She waited breathlessly for any other movements but felt none. He was just content with holding her. She leaned further back into his embrace, rested the back of her head against his chest, and slept peacefully.

Kira looked down at the sleeping form.

_This is hurting me too much. I wonder if you even care. Well, I think you DID but now…And look at you. So comfortable. Not even caring whether our bodies should be so close together. You probably didn't notice my heartbeat racing up to a billion beats per minute when you rested your body against me. But I love this. The warmth of your body…It gives me life._

He sighed, then placed his chin atop of her head, and closed his eyes, his arms not moving from around her waist.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, I'll update as soon as I can. Review if you like. Thanks thanks thanks XD**


	2. Sunset Landing

**If I Lost You – Chapter 2**

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**A/N: **

**Hehehehehe that rhymes XD…Lol… Yeah, yeah I'm weird. **

**HELLO! to all the people in review-land **

**...Anyway thanks to all that have reviewed…and no thanks to those who haven't.  
Right, now on to the stuff… Oh yeah just to explain a little something – the computer stuffed up and I had to delete my story online and then upload again…  
That might explain a few issues if anyone tried to get into the reviews page but it said that it was deleted.  
But anyway… Oh yeah and in the last chapter if anyone was wondering how Kira could lift Cagalli up just like that (I mean he just WAS seriously injured)… they were still in space at that time so they were void of gravity. MUAHAHAHA  
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**So now finally…On to the stuff…**

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Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed. Which is a pity really. I could do with the extra pocket money.****  
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The sun rose. Well it would have risen but they weren't on earth. 

_Earth._ The young man sighed.

_Back to the place where it's said to have all began huh…Speaking of Earth…_

His mind retraced the events that had happened just under an hour ago.

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---**-Flashback----**

He walked down the lonely corridors, awake as if the day had just dawned. Of course it had, but it was impossible to define day and night in space. He turned a corner, intending to stop by the blonde-haired girl's room he had been befriended. Maybe before the rest of the crew woke up and before their shifts they could spend a moment or two together.

He wondered about their relationship lately. What it exactly was. He paused, letting his hand hover over the button which would immediately request a com connection to identify who the visitor was. He pressed the button, and said, "Hey Cagalli – you awake yet?"

No answer.

_That's strange. I thought she was a morning person._

He pressed the button again, but the same reply of silence hit his ears. He sighed.

_Oh well…I guess I'll have to talk to her when we get to Earth…Or something…_

He retraced his steps down the corridor, and decided to walk out on the deck to see the distance to the earth. Lost in his thoughts of the physics of their re-entry, he was completely shocked at what he saw on the deck. Well, taken aback, since he really was taken aback, moving quite a number of steps to his rear. Even after rubbing his eyes he could not believe what he saw.

Cagalli was sleeping. Now there was nothing wrong with that, of course. But she was turned while sleeping, the side of her face lying comfortably on Kira Yamato's bandaged chest. A slight smile, and with her hands next to her face in a prayer-like stance, she looked just like a little child, sleeping comfortably on a pillow. This 'pillow' of hers had slipped slowly down the wall during the night, now Kira's upper back rested against the wall, with his head only a few inches close to the ground.

This had made it easier for Cagalli to lie in an almost horizontal position against his body. His arms were encircled around her waist, in an almost lazy manner. With her legs curled up underneath her, and his peaceful expression on both their face, the two looked more snug and cozy than baby birds in their nest. Athrun covered his mouth to prevent it from making a rather loud noise.

_What…What are they doing? Don't they know? They are…_

Athrun looked at them again. Their sleeping expressions were so peaceful and content that he tiptoed back to the deck's doorway.

_Jeez…Even if they are twins…Actually, they are probably acting like twins right now…But come on! That was way, way, way to close._

He shook away the stray thought that had planted itself in his head.

_Those two…_

**----End Flashback----**

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Now, one of 'those two' sat in full uniform as the ship made final preparations to enter the Earth's atmosphere. The Archangel's captain was in one of the cabin's, unfit to captain for quite some time. The death of Mwu had affected her emotionally, so now the pretty princess of Orb sat in her place.  
Cagalli looked up at Athrun from her position on the captain's seat.

"I don't think I fit the captain's seat very well…"

"Hmm…" Athrun paused, scratching his head. "Yeah you don't look like the captain-type. I mean, you're shorter, have blonde hair, likes to talk loudly…" He didn't get to finish his sentence because Cagalli had knocked him in the jaw.

"I didn't mean it like THAT, you idiot." She scowled, and the rest of the crew on the bridge tried to melt into their control desks.

"Ouch, ouch, ouchhhh…" Athrun rubbed his jaw. "You didn't let me get to the best part. Jeez…"

Cagalli looked away, looking annoyed.

"Well as I was saying," continued Athrun, "Is that a beautiful girl like you would probably fit better playing a princess. But since you decided to give me a nice hard 'wack' I suppose that's impossible." He turned away with his head up in the air with mock superiority.

Cagalli felt the expression on her face change from annoyance to laughter. She turned around and grabbed Athrun's uniform sleeve until he was facing her. They looked at each other for a few silent moments, and then suddenly started to burst out into peals of laughter.

"We are now descending into the Earth's atmosphere. Will all personnel on the ship please brace for the impact."

The announcement finalized their laughing moment, and Athrun walked away with a big grin on his face. But before that, he quickly leant down, closed the small space between their faces, and kissed Cagalli on the nose. "I'll talk to you later. Bye now."

Cagalli was left there, laughing and blushing.

_That Athrun. He's so nice to me._

She sat there, thinking about how she met him. But every time she pictured him, there was always someone there with him.

_Kira._

"Excuse me ma'am."

A male voice cut through her thoughts.

"We're going to experience some difficulty landing in ORB's territorial waters." Not waiting for an answer he continued. "With the equipment damaged as it is, we can only estimate a landing point."

"Oh…but what about our friendly ships? Can't they help us navigate?"

"Um, ma'am, they have already landed in ORB's territorial waters. We're the last ones out."

* * *

The ship orbited around the earth twice before executing a final downwards movement into the earth. The re-entry was uncomfortable, with all the usual movements, bangs, and crashes that happened every single time. Finally the re-entry was over, ending with a terrible jolt, accompanied by a splashing sound. 

They had landed in the ocean, not in ORB's territorial waters, but close enough to radio for help. Cagalli guided the archangel to a nearby island, told the crew to radio for help, and check on the maintenance of the ship.

As the crew dispersed to follow her orders, Cagalli checked her watch.

_3:12PM. Wow, that did take long. And I feel really, really tired._

She walked unhurriedly to her room, getting used to the gravity. She didn't bother undressing; she just flopped down in the centre of her bed and slept immediately.

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Kira walked past Cagalli's open room, on his way to check on the captain. He abruptly stopped when he saw that it actually was open. 

He peeked in, the light so dim that he could hardly see anything. He looked around the room, spotted her bed, and a figure sprawled across it. He smiled softly to himself, and quietly walked in. Cagalli was sleeping soundly, her face almost as peaceful as it was the night before. He maneuvered his way across her messy cabin, clothes, books, and bags strewn over the floor.

As he approached her, the crumpled bed sheets at the bottom of her bed caught his eye. He gently pulled the soft sheets over her still-uniformed body, tucking her in like a mother would to a child. As he pulled the sheets he noticed how tightly it clung to her feminine shape, and his eyes slowly swept across the length of her body

_Ack… What am I thinking... Again…_

His eyes flickered back to her face. He reached over and gently brushed away some stray hairs that had fallen across her forehead. Tiny electric shocks shot through his fingertips, even though her skin felt as soft as silk.

_Beautiful…No, pretty…_

His hand hadn't moved from her head. Impulsively, no rational thoughts involved, he bent down and swiftly but softly kissed her forehead. His lips parted only the tiniest of millimeters but it was a kiss. The warmth of her skin entered his cold lips, and as he straightened, his hair brushed against her eyes, causing her to shift slightly in her sleep. Kira held his breath, wondering what he would do if she suddenly woke up. Her eyelids fluttered, as if she was going to wake. Kira started to panic. He slowly sat down on the side of her bed. The bed creaked. It was the loudest sound he had ever heard. She shifted again, this time more wistful that the last. He inhaled to calm his shot nerves, then gently placed his hand over her fluttering eyelids. She murmured softly, her soft lips moving. Breathing in great gulps of air, he tenderly stroked her face to try and lull her back to a deep sleep. It worked.

_Thank God..._

He stood up carefully, not removing his hand from the side of her face. She slept. He gently removed his hand from her face, and instantly the warmth of his hand dissipated.He felt relieved, but somehow there was a twinge of regret lying in his mind as he walked softly outside. Kira turned around, glanced back at the figure curled in the bed, and shut the door.

When the door had shut, he collapsed silently against it. His back slid slowly down the metal door, and beads of sweat appeared underneath his wave of brown hair.

* * *

Only when he met his best friend Athrun in the corridors, only then the realization of what he had done had sunken in. His mind started whirling, and he remembered the touch of her soft forehead against his lips. He blushed. 

_I…I kissed her! I'm crazy…I mean, I know it was on the forehead...but…I'm an idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!-_

"Hey, what's up Kira. You feeling better now?" Athrun's voice interrupted his train of thought. Or, better yet, his train of 'idiot'.

"Oh…Hey Athrun. Hmm...Yeah, I'm pretty much ok now." Kira answered as he and his friend walked into the empty dining hall.

_I'm not OK! I'm going crazy! I just, like, went to Cagalli's room and she almost woke up! _

He was glad that the sun had begin to set, so as to hide his slightly red face.

"Hey…Have we got any luck with the radio?" Kira turned to his friend.

"Um, actually, yeah, but the nation of ORB is still under a lot of stress. They said they'd be out to pick us up in a few days. Since we can survive a few days, and it's a known position, I suppose they aren't really in a big hurry." Athrun filled up his pressurised water bottle, took Kira's and proceeded to do the same.

Kira sighed. "I suppose so. Now that the war is over, people can start taking things easily. Well, they THINK they can take things easily anyway."

He took his water bottle from Athrun, nodding a quick thank-you.

"Hehe, yeah." Athrun paused as if thinking. "Oh yeah, I gotta check up on how Cagalli is going. I'll see you later."

As he turned to go, Kira grabbed his forearm. "Don't worry about it. I stopped by a few minutes ago to make sure she was alright. She's asleep at the moment…"

"Oh that's good. She really has been overworking herself these past few days. Looking after you." He looked straight at Kira. "She cares about you a lot you know."

Kira looked away. "Yeah…"

After a short silence the two friends exited the dining hall.

"Well, I should go check on the maintenance crew for my Gundam." Athrun looked at Kira seriously. "You know, our mobile suits may be confiscated in the next year or so."

Kira nodded. "Its ok. They are…machines that kill."

Athrun looked at his friend worriedly. "Ok. I gotta split. I'll catch you later."

Kira watched the reatreating form of his friend, then turned the opposite way. He needed some time alone to think, wash his face, and clear up his emotions.

He stepped outside the Archangel, walked through the sand, and walked up the grassy slopes that surrounded the ship his form quickly becoming a silhouette in the setting sun.

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**AN:  
Ok, sorry for the short chapter. I mean I could have gone on…but its gonna go to a new section from there and I didn't really want to stop in the middle of a new section so… (deep breath) I guess you'll just have to review and wait while I write some more.  
Review if you're cool. If you're not cool well then too bad XD…  
No seriously, review, because it helps me write a lot faster – knowing there are people out there that read this :P.  
Ask any questions you want… blah blah blah suggestions and all that are welcome.**

**Thanks to all that reviewed… and thanks to those who WILL review. -evil grin-  
Oh yeah, this time, as a response to a request sent to me earlier, I have tried to make it really obvious who is thinking in italics. **

**CYA! Till next time... **


	3. Night Senses

**If I lost you – Chapter 3**

**  
A/N: Damn… It doesn't rhyme.. T.T…I'll have to wait till chapter 22 until it rhymes again… (Yes I am totally, totally insane) :P Well, I've got half-yearly's coming up, so I wont be able to update for a bit. Sigh… After my half-yearly's I'm gonna update this fic until it finishes, so its all good…**

**Thanks to my reviewers.. I know there's only a few of you… but you guys make me write XDDDDDDDDD**

**Well, anyway… here we go…**

**Disclaimer: I DO…-smirk- not own gundam seed… WAHHH**

The girl twisted in her sleep. Something, someone was disturbing her. Suddenly, she felt strangely comforted, for some reason and drifted back into dreamland.

Ack…

Cagalli sat up slowly, running a hand through her tousled blond hair. Funnily enough, she hadn't had any bad dreams this time. Usually her sleep was plagued with nightmares, and horrifying propagations of people dying.

Actually… I did start dreaming of Dad… Cagalli lay back down into her pillow, relishing in the warmth of her blanket.

_My blanket? Since when…_She eyed the blanket suspiciously, then wondered how in the world had her blanket suddenly materialized over her body. She was certain that she had just flopped down on her bed.

_Ath- No, Kira. I remember I started dreaming of Dad dying, and then suddenly HE came into the picture… But after that I finally stopped dreaming._

She eyed her blanket again. Did he do this? She laughed to herself, thinking of how she thought too much.

So what if he did this?

Blushing, she thought of how sweet he was. Well he was sweet, but she always relished his sweetness when it was directed to her. Earlier on her journey with the Archangel, she had developed feelings she didn't understand toward him. HE was the whole reason why she had gone on the Archangel in the first place. Cagalli sat up again, unable to return to the blissfulness of sleep due to the whirlwind of thoughts in her mind. Turning her head, she peeked out the porthole of her cabin. Darkness.

_It's night. _Realisation dawned upon her pretty head. _Dammit, how long have I slept. And what's happened. I'm supposed to be the Captain on this ship. And I'm sleeping!_

She swung her legs around, so that she was sitting on her bunk. Taking a quick stretch, she shook some stray hairs out of her eyes, and stood up. Her thoughts turned back to the brown-haired teenager that she had grown so close to.

_Except, _She declared to herself with regret and realisation, _We are…_ She paused in her thoughts, not wanting to say the word. So why, why did she feel this feeling for him that resembled…She paused again, not wanting to say THAT word either.

She changed out of her uniform, it was useless now that they were back on earth, and it was after all, in the middle of the night. Not much people would be about at this hour.

As she walked out of her cabin door to start her duties that she had neglected, she confronted herself mentally.

_Nothing will…no, nothing CAN happen… Since, we are…_

_Twins. _The word had been circling around his head for quite sometime now. Kira sat on the soft grass, the night wind whistling ghostly tunes through his ears. He had walked out of the Archangel hours earlier, when the sun was still setting, trying to look for comfortable silence. Except, he couldn't. His thoughts were plagued with this and that and her. Now he sat, his back against a medium-sized boulder, on a wide grassy slope. The slope continued higher, but Kira had been contented halfway, losing himself in the myriad of thoughts that had sprung from…

…_His hand hadn't moved from her head. Impulsively, no rational thoughts involved, he bent down and swiftly but softly kissed her forehead. His lips parted only the tiniest of millimeters but it was a kiss…_

Almost in a wistful gesture his fingers went to his lips. But she was so pretty at that time. Actually, she was pretty most of the time.

_No, that doesn't justify what I did. I should probably tell her…and…and…_His darkened features sprouted a tinge of pink. _I can't tell her! _

He closed his eyes, trying to forget what had happened.

From where he was sitting he could just see the top of the Archangel, its bridge poking out in the night sky above the slope ahead of him. As he was surveying his surroundings for the sixth time, he thought he saw a shadow move. It was walking slowly to the Archangel, but it held what looked like a knife. Kira instantly opened his eyes fully, and his muscles tensed. The shadow merely strolled, as if taking its time.

_An assassin. Of course._ He mentally slapped himself. _They were broadcasting on the general frequency. Some people out there could have heard._

Only thinking about the safety of the people in the Archangel, not giving any thought whatsoever to the fact that the war _was_ declared over, his super-senses took over him. He could see the shadow, the knife in its hand, he could hear the shadow, its soft footsteps echoing in his brain, he could smell the shadow, and

_TOUCH..._The next sense.

He sprung out of his hiding place. Grabbing hold of the person's shoulders from behind, he gripped the assassin's mouth with his bare hand.

_Strange. Not wearing a mask._

"Move, and die."

The daggered words cut the night air. Kira's voice was, while some considered it sweet and boyish, icy at this particular moment. That is why, when the person in his hands started to wriggle, he was astonished. ANYONE encountering his special 'death voice' would have stayed perfectly still.

_What kind of…_

His thoughts was cut as the assassin moved one of its legs, and tripped the both of them over, sending them tumbling into the soft grass. Kira kept his hold on the assassin as they rolled down the slope.

_I will not…let anyone hurt the Archangel._

He landed on top of the assassin. Grabbing hold of the assassin's shoulders, he immediately looked down into the face of…

"Cagalli?"

Confusion spread through his face. Confusion was replaced by puzzlement. Finally, puzzlement slowly turned to realisation. Wait. He was missing something. Oh, that's right. Realisation turned to fear. Fear of the extremely dangerous expression on Cagalli's face.

_Ohhhhhhhh…Crapppp…_

_**SMACK……!**_

Fist met face.

"Kira you, IDIOT!" Cagalli lay on the ground, clear vision hadn't come, still dazed from her tumble. However, what was clear was the growing vein on her forehead.

"Ah…" Was all Kira could say. What he could think however was quite different.

_She probably could punch a hole in the Archangel._

She shook her head. "Jeez… I come out to take a walk, and look what happens. What were you thinking anyway?"

"Ah…Ah…Well…You see…" He made the mistake of looking at her straight in the eye. And realised how close they still were.

"No I don't see …-" She stopped, wondering why Kira's face had suddenly turned a crimson colour.

"Why are you…?" The colour of her face joined his when she realised that Kira was still inches away from her face, and his body was still over hers.

Kira looked down at her face.

_Even when she's angry…She looks so cute._

Right. Now she was blushing.

_Even cuter._

He eyed her slightly opened lips. Their faces were coming closer. He remembered what he was thinking when he was about to engage the 'assassin'. The senses. He had seen, heard, smelt, and even touched the so-called 'assassin'. There was one missing. Ah, yes, taste.

_TASTE?_

His vision started to blur, and Cagalli looked up at him. His face was so close, so engulfing.

_So… good looking, _She thought.

His face was coming closer, narrowing the gap. He felt lightheaded. She looked him in the face, casting a glance to his soft mouth.

_Am I…Are we going to…_

Suddenly his body was upon hers and... he collapsed, his arms giving up on him. His head fell on her shoulder. His closing thoughts were,

_I knew it. She really COULD make a hole in the Archangel._

His sudden collapse changed the look on her face.

_Oops. Maybe I did hit him a bit too hard. _Cagalli giggled.

She extracted herself from under his body and gently turned him over. He lay in the soft grass, with an almost peaceful expression.

"Idiot." She murmured to herself. She felt her lips with her fingers.

_What…was I thinking back then?_

The proximity of Kira had awakened feelings she thought she had placed away, far, far away. From the time before they found out they were related, she carefully hid her feelings for the young pilot, knowing full well if she let them go out of control…and they were related…

She felt angry. Why did the people responsible for this hide the fact that she and Kira were related.

_It would have been easier…I would never had fallen in…_

She shook her head; her features still displaying light anger.

_I am DEFINITELY not saying that word._

Kira still lay there in the grass. And opened one eye.

Cagalli looked at him.

_I can't believe I actually knocked him out. _

"Hey. You awake yet?"

"Uhhh…" Kira sat up, trying to lean on the slope of the hill, but failing.

Sigh. "You idiot. Don't try to sit up now. Here. Lie down." She sat down next to his unsteady body and patted her lap.

Kira blinked. "Wha…" He didn't finish because Cagalli had pulled his head down onto her lap. Blushing furiously, he looked up at Cagalli, and the stars behind her. Actually it felt quite comfortable. He breathed in and smelt the grass-stains on her trousers. His heart started beating noticably faster.

Cagalli looked down at him. "So? You feeling a bit more relaxed?"

_RELAXED? How can I be relaxed? I'm FRI-KEN lying on her lap!_

"Er… Actually…this is…I'm…-"

"So…What happened back there?" She cut him off his stuttering.

His embarrassment was momentarily forgotten. Then was replaced by the embarrassment of the other situation. "Oh…" He stopped, his voice awkward. "Well… I thought you were an assassin…and I, uh, thought that you were going to the Archangel…you know…" he finished lamely.

"Oh…" She tried her best to look stern and unforgiving, but when she looked down at the boy lying on her lap, she couldn't help but giggle at his sheepish expression.

"What?" He looked up at her. Still sheepish.

She stopped her giggling. "An assassin?" She broke off into uncontrollable laughter.

"Jeez... It wasn't my fault… It wasn't like I could see properly you know."

She laughed. "Seriously now. Do I look like an assassin to you?"

From his point of view, no. She actually looked pretty good from his point of view.

_Maybe... _He interrupted his own thoughts by looking up at her pretty face, which was giggling uncontrollably. He turned away, embarrassed. She noticed the shift of weight on her lap, looked down and saw Kira looking the other way.

"Kira…You're so funny, you idiot." Her lilting voice carried through the clear night air.

"Well maybe…"

"Huh?" She stopped laughing, puzzled by his response. "Well maybe, what?"

"Oh…" He turned his head again, so that he was looking at her face, her pretty outline boarded by the tons of stars that inhabited the universe. "What I meant was…" He grinned mischievously. "Maybe you do look like an assassin."

Her look of laughter was replaced by playfulness. "Oh is that so? Maybe I should do what assassins do then."

"What?"

"You know. Kill people." She smiled evilly. "I'll need some practice though… Now, _who_ can I practice on." She looked around, then focused her gaze on him, an evil glint in her eye.

He planted a look of mock horror on his face. "Wahhhh… I'm getting out of here!" His statement was interjected with laughter, and he didn't make any move to show he was trying to leave. Actually, he had grown quite comfortable to his sitting – no, his lying position on her lap.

She lifted her hands, brandishing a banana to look like a dagger. Solemnly she declared, "I will now assassinate thee, Kira- " She was interrupted by a new burst of laughter.

"Oh… So THAT'S what it was…" Kira laughed. She looked at him puzzled, her hands still in the air.

He stifled another laugh. "Oh, nothing, its just that I thought that was the dagger in your hands when I jumped on you."

She gave him a blank look. "Iiii-diot…" Her hands still in the air, she emphasised the "I" sound. Still lying down on her lap, he reached up and gently took the hands that were supposed to 'kill' him and brought them down in front of his face.

"I don't think these hands should kill." The soft seriousness in his voice cut the jovial mood in half. The banana was forgotten. He suddenly felt content. Content with lying on her lap, content with watching her face, bordered by the stars, and content with holding her hands in his.

She looked past their interlocked hands and into his deep amethyst eyes. And caught him staring right back at her. A moment of unspoken affection passed between them, and then broke off, just as suddenly as it started. Blushing, she looked away, but for some unknown reason she tightly held on to his hands.

After a few moments of silence had gone by she snuck a peek at him. He was still looking. No, staring. Vaguely cross because she couldn't do the same without keeping a non-blushing face, she asked, "What?"

Kira pulled on their intertwined hands, and rested them on his forehead, providing an unobstructed view to her face.

"Hmm? Oh… I was just thinking of how cute you looked when you were angry."

"Huh- wha- um…" If there was a level beyond blushing, she definitely had passed it.

As if realising what he just had said, he sat up quickly, immediately regretting his action. The warmth of her lap left his head feeling ridiculously cold in the night air. But he was blushing, so he didn't care. He felt her gaze fall on his back, but he pretended he didn't notice.

_Stay calm, stay calm._

He straightened, turned, but did not meet her gaze.

"Ah, umm…" His amethyst eyes darted everywhere, everywhere but her. So much for trying to stay calm. His eyes rested on the boulder he had been sitting at, further up the slope.

"H-hey, lets go up there." Without waiting for an answer, or stating a reason, he reached for her hand and started walking up the slope.

"H-h-hey…wa-wait…" If Kira's voice was unsteady then hers must have been incomprehensible. But she followed him up the slope anyway, staring in wonderment at how comfortably her fingers fitted between his.

As they neared the boulder she caught up with him, adjusting her pace to match his long strides.

"H-hey!" She tugged on his hand, trying to sound irritated. "Where are we going?"

"Um… Well, ah, I just wanted to see what's up there." He muttered to the ground.

Cagalli bent down a little too peer into his face. "Hmm…"

Kira felt her staring at him, and sheepishly grinned. She smiled.

"Well…What are we waiting for?"

"Oh… yeah…" He grinned again and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. Hand in hand, they continued up the slope.

What they saw at the top of the slope was magical. The moon hung in the dark sky, shining its reflective rays onto the dark, blue sea. The waves softly lapped the bottom of the grey, rocky cliff, and the smell of salt hovered in the air around them. The waves broke in a resounding pattern. Big wave, small wave, small wave, then big wave again. They were standing atop the only headland on the island. The tip of the cliff wasn't sheltered like the grassy bottom. Here, the winds blew harder, and Cagalli shivered involuntarily. Her shiver carried over to his hand, which was gripping hers.

"Hey. What's wrong?" The familiar lines of worry now materialized on his face.

Cagalli turned away, still holding his hand. "Oh…nothing" She felt him stare at her back, then when she thought his gaze was lowered she turned around. And was met by his warm jacket.

"Wha… What…" She blinked at the jacket.

"Here."

"Oh…Uh, thanks…" She blushed.

Suddenly the air seemed heavy around them.

_Why is it like this? _she mused. Usually, when they were together, everything was comfortable between them. And now, somehow, it was so awkward. But they were holding hands, for goodness sake. How could she possibly –

"Um…Cagalli?"

She glanced at him, then at the jacket he was holding.

"Oh. Thank-you Kira." She took the jacket from him, and fitted it around her small frame breaking off their handhold. She breathed in. It smelt of Kira. She glanced at him again, looking at his thin arms in his light brown shirt. He shivered. Instantly she felt guilty.

"Actually, you should have it back."

"No. It's ok. Really. I'm warm. Really warm. Fine." All this he said, while shivering.

"You idiot. Trying to tell me you're warm in this weather." She stepped closer towards him. "Hmm…" She spoke softly, thinking. "Come." She opened her arms for him.

_What?_ Kira didn't budge.

When he didn't move she sighed and slipped her slender arms around his waist, pulling him closer to her. For a while she just stood there, embracing him, waiting for him to respond. Finally, she felt him hug her back; and she loosed her hold on his body, letting him hold her tightly instead. They stood together, her pressed against his chest, and him resting his chin on top of her head. The night wind blew around them but their embrace blocked out the coldness.

_Yes, I am hugging her because it's cold. _Kira told off that nagging inner voice. _Sure you are. Liar._ Kira winced. Fighting with himself wasn't that cool. Especially when he was losing.

Standing there was the most comfortable silence Kira had had for a while. The two lonely figures stood there, silhouetted against a moonlight sky, relishing in each other's arms.

**A/N: Yep yep, I know, I know... I cut off at a crucial moment**. **But...NYAH! Sigh... an embrace... so sweeeeeeeeeettttt... lol umm yeah so i got half yearlies.. I won't be able to update until next week (8th April... er hopefully) anyway coolness, everyone keep reading, keep reviewing and all that cool stuff that every author likes... Basically after this I'll make them go back to ORB then we'll see how it goes from there... wink wink... Hmmm did I miss anything? Oh yeah, thanks again to every reviewer.. I need more! lol anyway cya for now... until next chapter... (Oh and please note the length of this chapter... i made it nice and long and fluffy XDDDDD) **

**Ja**


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